Unexpected
by Mali Bear's Buddy
Summary: Looking into the depths of his brown eyes, I search for the right words. I silently curse myself and wish that I had his heart. That, like him, I knew exactly what to say. Ch. 2 from Brennan's POV.  Now complete!
1. Booth

**A/N - This one is for etakkate. ****I've been having a rough time lately and I owe her a thank you for the much needed inspiration. Honey, I hope you enjoy reading this half as much as I did writing it...because if I fall asleep at my desk this afternoon after finding myself until 2 am writing I'm blaming you. *wink***

**Fellow writers, like etakkate, will**** understand what I mean when I say some stories write themselves. When I read her _Little Moments _note a humorous little romp came to mind but, as I wrote it, it morphed into something more poignant. This was meant to be part of my _Little Moments_ collection but I got a little carried away. It feels like an independent piece so I'm making it one.**

**Fair warning - I originally wrote it in third person and I decided to do it from Booth's POV at the last minute. Please, please, please let me know if you see any errors where I missed making corrections as it has not been betaed.**

**I could probably be persuaded to write a companion piece from Brennan's POV if you ask nicely... *bats eye lashes***

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bones.**

Unexpected

We sit at the dining room table eating dinner as has become our habit. She munches on the leaves of her salad and it's froufrou dressing as she sips a glass of her favorite Chilean red. I slice into a thick, well-marbled porterhouse cooked just the way I likes it - a perfect medium rare - and nurse a cold beer.

Reaching across the table, she snatches a fry from the edge of my plate. It's nothing new. She's been doing it for years. But this time it's different. It comes with a pensive rather than mischievous glint. "Everything okay there, Bones?" I ask as I take a drink.

"I'm the scientist," she says quietly.

Her choice of words make me feel raw even though we have been together for several years now. I'm carried back to the night outside the Hoover. I think about all we've been through since - Maluku, Afghanistan, Hannah, Pop's death, Max's health problems, trials and cases. I absently push a piece of meat around with my fork. "Uh-huh," I agree, struggling to chew. The steak that was so appetizing moments ago suddenly tastes like sand. _Keep it together, Seeley._

"We're happy, aren't we?" her tone is still soft. The investigator in me doesn't miss the tiny tremor in her usually confident voice but her eyes are shining. _Something is definitely up._

I take a deep breath. "I like to think so," I tell her with a smile. _I wish like hell I knew where she was going with this._ I set the fork down and take another sip of my beer.

She pushes her chair back and rounds the table. She waits for me to move back and sits in my lap. She rest her arms around my neck and sighs in contentment when I wrap mine around her waist.

I look into her eyes and reach up to tuck a stray tendril of auburn hair behind her ear. I still can't get over how beautiful she is. And I'm pretty sure I never will. Unable to resist the curve of her lips, I seal my mouth to hers.

She pulls back, her baby-blues fix on me. "You've given me a decade of empirical evidence," she muses. "I haven't made things easy for you. I've fought against you when I should have been fighting for you - _for us_."

I see the apprehension in her face. "Bones, Baby," I attempt to comfort her.

She shakes her head. "No, Booth," she tells me. "I have to get this out."

My hands stroke up her back, fingertips moving against her blouse-covered skin in a barely-there caress. "You know you can tell me anything," I say mirroring her soft tone.

"It's not what I have to tell you," she explains. "It's what I want - no, _need_ - to ask you."

Immediately, I'm on alert. _Did I forget something?_ "You know I'll do anything for you, Baby," I hear myself answer.

She smiles. "I just never thought I would get here," she says. "That I would feel this way."

I flash her a softer version of what she calls my charm smile. _Maybe this isn't bad after all._ "I know what you mean." I run the tips of my fingers down the line of her jaw.

"I love you," she says leaning into the touch.

"I know you do," I say back. "And I love you."

"Marry me?" she says suddenly, the words escaping her lips in a rushed breath.

I'm startled. Deer-in-the-headlights doesn't begin to touch how I'm feeling. _She didn't. She couldn't have. It had to be a..._ "Come again?"

"Marry me." This time it's a statement, not a question. She doesn't blink or flinch.

"But I thought you didn't..." I stammer. _She asked me to marry her. She asked _me_ to marry _her_! And instead of saying yes, I'm backtracking. Giving her a way out when I ought to be booking the chapel or calling the justice of the peace. I wonder when the next flight leaves for Vegas..._

"While I do believe that marriage is an antiquated ritual, I find that there are benefits to such a union as well. More importantly, I know that it's important to you and..." she begins to explain. She does that when she's nervous - starts rambling.

"Yes," I answer, finally finding my voice.

"I know you won't..." she's still talking at me, her squinty little brain running at 100 mph.

"Yes," I repeat louder, still unsure why she's continuing to justify.

"Leave - _oof_..."

_Enough._ I drag her mouth to mine, kissing her soundly. Kissing her is my favorite way to shut her up. I can taste the ginger in the salad dressing and the bite of her red wine. Beneath that, it's all Bones. I could never get tired of her unique flavor. Her tongue touches mine and I feel her fingers tugging at my hair.

My forehead rests against hers when we come up for air. My eyes close and for a moment I just hold her. "Wait here," I say leaving her at the table. I head into our bedroom and rummage through my night table. Finally, my fingers close around the velvet box I've been hiding from her for the last six months.

I drop to a knee in front of her. Her eyes widen. "Just indulge me, okay?" I ask. _I know it's old fashioned, but I need to do this. For me. For the children I want to have with her. But especially for the woman in front of me. I need her to know this is for keeps._

She nods, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears. The box opens with a creak. I can't help but smile at the little gasp that escapes her when she sees it. It isn't fancy but it's unique - just like our relationship.

"This ring," I say as I pull it out, "belonged to my grandmother." I'm overwhelmed with emotion. I never thought this would happen. Never thought I'd have this chance. Especially not with her. "Pops said..."

She takes my hand in hers and catches the tear that slides over my cheek with a finger. I often wonder if she realizes how much strength I draw from her. Probably not. She just isn't that way.

"That last night, Pops said one day you would wear this," I tell her. The old man is probably shaking his head at me now giving me that famous told-you-so look he always got when Jared and I were kids. "I thought _I_ was the one who knew, but Pops really believed in us." I slip the etched silver circle around her first knuckle, its single star-sapphire contrasting against her fair skin. "Bones -Temperance - will you marry me?"

Without a moment's hesitation, she breathes the sweetest words to ever touch my ears. "I thought you'd never ask..."


	2. Brennan

**A/N - This is admittedly OOC for Brennan - but you knew that going in. I'm still not really comfortable writing from her POV, so any tips or things I could do to improve for next time would be much appreciated. **

**Again, not betaed. All mistakes are mine. Thank you to Gemlily5 for pointing out my typo in the last chapter.**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bones.**

Unexpected - Part II

We sit at my dining room table eating dinner. I crunch on the crisp leaves of a salad in a tart Asian dressing I brought back from my last trip and sip a glass of Chilean red. I watch as he slices into his steak.

Reaching across the table, I take a fry from his plate. I've done it many times, but this time it's to get his attention. "Everything okay there, Bones?" he asks as he drinks from the beer at his right hand.

"I'm the scientist," I say quietly as I toy with the edge of my napkin.

He looks down at his plate. I wonder what he's thinking as he absently pushes a piece of meat around with his fork. "Uh-huh," he mumbles.

"We're happy, aren't we?" I try to keep my voice light. He knows me better than I know myself and I wonder if he senses I'm nervous.

His eyes meet mine and he takes a deep breath. "I like to think so," he tells me with a smile. He sets the fork down and takes another sip of his drink.

I slide my chair back and go to him. I wait for him to push away from the table and sit in his lap. I wrap arms around his neck and sighs when he places his around my waist.

He looks into my eyes and reaches up to tuck a lock of hair behind my ear. Unable to resist the gravitational pull of each others lips, we meet in a sweet kiss.

I'll never get over how tender his touch is. I've seen him make kills and be rough with suspects, the alpha in him dominating at so many things. But then I've also seen him holding Jack and Angela's son and I imagine what he must have been like when Parker was a baby. It makes me ache with the desire to give him another child. One he can be with all the time and watch grow. I find I'm now sickened by the thought that I could have deprived him of that - that I could have done it without him.

I pull back. Looking into the depths of his brown eyes, I search for the right words. I silently curse myself and wish that I had his heart. That, like him, I knew exactly what to say. "You've given me a decade of empirical evidence," I state plainly. "I haven't made things easy for you. I've fought against you when I should have been fighting for you - _for us_."

"Bones, Baby..." It's so incredibly Booth - attempting to comfort me even when I know I'm making him anxious.

I shake my head. "No, Booth," I say to him. "I have to get this out."

His hands stroke up my back, his fingertips burning my skin through my light-weight blouse. "You know you can tell me anything," he says in almost a whisper.

"It's not what I have to tell you," I explain. "It's what I want - no, _need_ - to ask you."

"You know I'll do anything for you, Baby," he replies.

I smile. _He would. I know that. That may be the one fact I can't claim I had a steep learning curve in figuring out. _ "I just never thought I would get here," I say. "That I would feel this way."

"I know what you mean." He smiles broadly and runs the roughened tips of his fingers along my jaw.

"I love you," I say as I lean into his touch.

"I know you do," he say softly. "And I love you."

_I know what he's said to me - that just being with me is enough - but I know him. Perhaps not as well as he knows me, but I know him. I know he wouldn't be completely happy with just that. I know it's my turn to take the jump of faith. To be the one to take the chance. _"Marry me?" _There. I said it. And it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be._

Booth shakes his head. He's surprised. "Come again?"

"Marry me." I feel bold - this time it's a statement rather than a question.

"But I thought you didn't..." he stammers.

_I should have expected this reaction after years of telling him what I thought about the institution. _I do the only thing I can think of - I start explaining. "While I do believe that marriage is an antiquated ritual, I find that there are benefits to such a union as well. More importantly, I know that it's important to you and..."

"Yes."

"I know you won't..." I continue wanting him to know what I've figured out. What I've learned about him. About us.

"Yes."

"Leave - _oof_..."

He pulls me against his chest and his mouth takes control of mine. Kissing has become his way of shutting me up or ending arguments. I let him think he's pulling the fur over my eyes, but the truth is I love it. I could never get tired of feeling his lips against mine. My tongue touches his and my fingers tug at his hair.

His forehead rests against mine when we come up for air and for moment he just holds me. "Wait here," he says leaving me at the table.

When he comes back, he drops to a knee in front of me. I can't stop my eyes from widening. "Just indulge me, okay?" he asks.

I nod, feeling moisture flood my eyes. _How could I say no? Years from now when we're telling our children this story, I will remind him that I _asked _him_ first. The box opens with a creak. I gasp when I see it. It's simple and perfect. My eyes flutter to his.

"This ring," he says as he pulls it from the casing, "belonged to my grandmother. Pops said..."

I take his hand and catch the tear that slides over his cheek. I want to comfort him the way he has comforted me so many times. I know I still have a lot to learn, but some day we'll get there. Someday I will learn how to be all of the things he is to me for him.

"That last night, Pops said one day you would wear this," he tells me. _What he doesn't know is that Hank and I had a similar conversation that night - one where he told me Booth would never leave me whether I married him or not._ "I thought _I_ was the one who knew, but Pops really believed in us." he slips the etched silver circle around my first knuckle. "Bones -Temperance - will you marry me?"

Without a moment's hesitation, I give him my answer - "I thought you'd never ask..."


End file.
